Tài liệu Legislating for the right of access to public information in swedish and vietnamese law

Joint Swedish-Vietnamese Master’s Programme MASTER’S THESIS Legislating for the Right of Access to Public Information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law SUPERVISORS: Dr. Bengt Lundell Ass oc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Cuu Viet Ho Chi Minh City, February 2009 Preface and Acknowledgements The right of access to information held by public authorities is considered not only a human right but also an important tool to exercise and protect the other rights. As a citizen and a univeristy teacher of Administrative Law, I am particularly intrigued in examining this right, expecting to give answers to the questions, whether the right of access to public information exists in Vietnam and if it does, how well it is legislated in Vietnamese Law in comparison with the relevant matter in a foreign law. My Swedish professors have given me extensive knowledge on Swedish law, and Sweden is the first nation in the world that passed legislation on the right of access to public information in 1766. For these reasons, Swedish law was chosen as the foreign law for my legal comparative work. I started my research with obstacles, but ended it with growth, both academically and personally. Initially, little Vietnamese law literature on the right of access to public information was found, so it seemed very hard for me, as a researcher, to make a comparative law on legislating for the right of access to public information between Swedish and Vietnamese law. Fortunately, my supervisors gave me careful guidance and on-going encouragement on how to fulfil my research. I learnt to be caring for others and responsible for myself from them. I would like to thank my Vietnamese and Swedish supervisors, Professor Nguyen Cuu Viet and Professor Bengt Lundell, for their valuable instructions and comments on my master thesis. I owe them a life-long admiration and gratitude. I wish to send my deep acknowledgment to the other Vietnamese, Swedish, and American professors, particularly Dr. Christoffer Wong, who devotedly provided us with professional knowledge and research methodology during their lectures. I also thank the administrative staff of Vietnam and Sweden Joint Master’s Program, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Ha Noi Law University and Lund University Faculty of Law for their kindness and assistance in organising my accommodation and study inside Vietnam and in Sweden. My thanks also go to Sida for funding the Joint Master’s Program that I attended. My family substantively supported me all the time I worked on my thesis. I am grateful to my mother-in-law for her dedication on my little daughter, and my beloved husband for his ongoing assistance and encouragement that have helped me to overcome difficulties to pursue my higher education. I hope my dear daughter forgive me for the lack of time playing with her. I am indebted to my sister for her reading and corrections to my draft thesis. Also, I wish to thank my colleagues who have shared my work during the time I have taken my course away. My supervisors gave me the best instruction. If there are some mistakes in my thesis, they are truly my own faults. 1 Table of Content Preface and Acknowledgements .................................................................................. 1 Table of Content........................................................................................................... 2 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction.................................................................................................... 6 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Rationale ........................................................................................................ 6 Purpose and delimitation................................................................................ 9 Methodology and material ............................................................................. 9 Disposition ................................................................................................... 10 2. Right of access to public information and the principles of legislating for the right .............................................................................................................. 11 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 Right of access to public information .......................................................... 11 The concept of the right .......................................................................... 11 Benefits of the right to the State and individuals .................................... 14 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 The principles of legislating for the right .................................................... 17 Maximum of disclosure........................................................................... 18 Limited scope of exceptions.................................................................... 19 Process to facilitate access ...................................................................... 20 3. Scope of the right in Swedish and Vietnamese Law.................................... 22 3.1 3.1.1 Terminology and the concept of information subject to the right ............... 22 Terminology and the concept of information subject to the right in Swedish Law ........................................................................................... 22 Terminology and the concept of information subject to the right in Vietnamese Law ...................................................................................... 23 3.1.2 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 The scope of accessible public information ................................................. 23 The scope of accessible public information in Swedish Law ................. 23 The scope of accessible public information in Vietnamese Law ............ 28 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 Restrictions to the right ................................................................................ 30 Restrictions to the right in Swedish Law ................................................ 30 Restrictions to the right in Vietnamese Law ........................................... 32 3.4 3.4.1 3.4.2 3.4.3 Comparative analysis and recommendations to legislating for the scope of the right in Vietnam ..................................................................................... 33 Terminology and concept of information subject to the right................. 33 What public information can be accessible under the right? .................. 33 What public information cannot be accessible under the right? ............. 34 4. The process of gaining the right in Swedish and Vietnamese Law ............. 36 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 Requirements for a request for public information ...................................... 36 Form of request ....................................................................................... 36 Content of request ................................................................................... 37 2 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 The release of the requested information ..................................................... 38 Determination of the release of the requested information ..................... 38 Form of release of requested information ............................................... 39 Time for response to the request ............................................................. 40 Fees for releasing the requested information .......................................... 41 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 Refusal to the release of the requested information ..................................... 42 Authorities to refusal to the release of the requested information .......... 42 Grounds for the refusal............................................................................ 43 Procedure of the refusal .......................................................................... 44 4.5 Appeals to the refusal................................................................................... 44 Cases permissible to appeals ................................................................... 44 Authorities to settle the appeals .............................................................. 45 Procedure to lodge the appeals................................................................ 46 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.5.4 5. Comparative analysis and recommendations to legislating for the process of gaining access to public information in Vietnam ........................................ 48 Requirements of the request for information .......................................... 48 Requirements of releasing the requested information............................. 49 Refusal of releasing of the requested information .................................. 51 Appeals.................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 54 Table of Statutes and other Legal Instruments........................................................... 56 International Treaties and Conventions ..................................................................... 56 Council of Europe Recommendations ....................................................................... 56 National Legislations ................................................................................................. 56 Sweden 56 Vietnam 57 Bibliography............................................................................................................... 58 Official Reports and other Documents....................................................................... 58 Monographs ............................................................................................................... 58 Articles in Journals, Anthologies etc. ........................................................................ 59 3 Abbreviations ADC FPA FOI GPR ICCPR IG NA OUP SA SFS UDHR UN Asociación por los Derechos Civiles Swedish Freedom of Press Act (SFS 1949:105) Freedom of information Government Publications Review International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Instrument of Government (SFS 1974:152) National Assembly Oxford University Press Swedish Secrecy Act (SFS 1980:100) Swedish Code of Statutes Universal Declaration of Human Rights United Nations 4 Executive Summary In a democratic society, the relationship between a state and its citizens is intricate and close. The State has a duty to inform the citizens of its official activities and citizens have a right of access to the official information held by the State, in order for them to know what and how the State acts on their behalf and also what the State requires its individual citizens to do to support the State. The communication between the State and its citizens is a prerequisite for a democratic society and the right of access to public information is one of effective means to attain this communication. In order to meet the demands of an informed society, legislating for the right of access to public information has become an important goal for democratic nations all over the world. More and more states have been drafting and adopting laws on access to public information. Vietnam, as a nation and a part of the world, is following this global trend. Actually, the right of access to public information has already been recognized and provided for in the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution (article 69)1, and this right has been provided for in detail by some Acts of Parliament. However, these statutory provisions are scattered and not systematized. They have not been codified, which means that sufficient and effective legal measures to guarantee this right in reality have not existed. Therefore, developing a comprehensive law about access to public information is necessary for Vietnam for the present time. My thesis aims to study two of the basic features of the legislation on access to public information in Sweden and in Vietnam within a comparative law framework. They are the scope of information this legislation makes accessible and the process of access that is established by it. In terms of scope, I will look only at information held by administrative authorities, not by the legislative and judicial branches of government. Based on the result of the comparative work, I give recommendations to legislating for the right in Vietnam, particularly in respect of the scope of the right and process to gain the right. ‘The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be informed, and the right to assemble, form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law.’ (emphasis added) 5 1. 1.1 Introduction Rationale During the establishment and development of the democracy in Vietnam, the State always upholds the fundamental rights, and these rights have been recognized very early in the first constitutions. However, due to obstacles caused by war, illiteracy, poor economy management, culture of secrecy, etc some of the constitutional rights are weakly protected in practice and among those rights is the right to be informed or right of access to public information.2 After an amendment of the Constitution in 2001, making Vietnam become a state of law was realised in the Constitution as well as in reality. This trend required a sufficient legal system and transparency of government in order to support a democratic society. The fundamental human rights have been increasingly guaranteed in law and in practice. The right of access to public information has been recognized as a constitutional right in Vietnam since the adoption of the present Constitution of 1992. The article 69 of the Constitution states, ‘The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be informed, and the right to assemble, form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law.’ (emphasis added) In addition to the Constitution, Vietnam has adopted several laws concerning the right to be informed, for example the Press Act 1989 (article 4(1)), Law on Promulgation of Legal Instruments 19963 (article 10), Law on Promulgation of Legal Instruments of Local Governments 2004 (article 8), the Publishing Act 2004 (article 5), the Audit Act 2005 (articles 15, 58, and 59), etc.4 These laws also require transparency in state management and state duty to publish information regarding public bodies’ organisation, policies and activities. The duty to publish information is considered the passive aspect of the right; but the other true and active aspect of the Cao Đức Thái, ‘Quan điểm – Chủ trương – Chính sách của Đảng và Nhà nước ta về quyền được thông tin của công dân trong thời kỳ đổi mới’ (Vietnamese Communist Party and State Views and Policies concerning the right to be informed in the innovatory age) in Quyền tiếp cận thông tin (The Right of Access to Information) (Institute of Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh Politics and Administration Academy, Ha Noi 2008) p. 23. This law was replaced by a new law in 2008 which will come into force on 1 January 2009. Ngô Đức Mạnh, ‘Quyền tiếp cận thông tin ở Việt Nam – Lý luận và thực tiễn’ (Right of access to public information in Vietnam – Theory and Practice), in Quyền tiếp cận thông tin (The Right of Access to Information) (Institute of Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh Politics and Administration Academy, Ha Noi 2008) pp. 58-60. 6 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. right, that is the right of individual to dierctly make a request for information held by the State, has been received little regulation. However, the right of individual access to public information upon request was not regulated in law until 2005, when a new Anti-corruption Act (hereinafter referred to as Anti-corruption Act) was adopted.5 Accordingly, an individual is entitled to make a request for access to information held by a working body for which he works or information held by a local government where he lives.6 By such provisions, an individual’s right to request the information held by public authorities is limited; not all information held by a body is subject to the right but only the information concerning the body’s activities and policies. On supplementing the Anti-corruption Act, the Government passed a decree concerning guidelines the procedure to access to information. However, the procedures specified by this decree are ineffective to protect the exercise of the right. Moreover, in practice, the right to request information held by public bodies is seldom taken by individuals because it is not guaranteed effectively by law and wellknown to the public. Though it is already provided for in the Anti-corruption Act and some other acts, these provisions are very scattered and unclearly defined.7 Some principles of guaranteeing the right have even been ignored or violated. Besides, it is generally believed that the right of access to public information is subject only to anti-corruption activities since it is mainly provided for in the Anti-corruption Act.8 Therefore, this right has been not very authentic and practical in Vietnam. The National Assembly (Vienamese Partliament), session 2007 - 2011, has approved a schedule of agenda where the new laws are planned to be made within its session and a law on access to public information is included in this schedule.9 On Vietnamese Anti-corruption Act, art. 32. The right of individual’s access to information related to local government is also specified in Ordinance on Implementation of Democracy at Grassroots Level 2007 (art. 6, point 2). Vũ Công Giao, ‘Cơ chế bảo đảm quyền tiếp cận thông tin của các cơ quan nhà nước ở Việt Nam’ (Measure on protecting the right of access to information held by a public authority) in Quyền tiếp cận thông tin (The Right of Access to Information) (Institute of Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh Politics and Administration Academy, Ha Noi 2008) p. 80. ibid p. 85. See List 1 of Resolution No. 11/2007/QH12 on Legislative Programme for Legislature XII and Year 2008 which was approved by the NA on 21 November 2007. According to Resolution No. 27/2008/QH12 on Legislative Programme for Year 2009 which was approved by the NA on 15 November 2008, a law on access to information was planned to be introduced to the NA for its first reading on October 2009. 7 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law preparation of making such a law, the Government and other agencies have made theoretical and practical studies of access to information legislation. Aiming to contribute a reference to this preparatory work, I concentrate on studying the right of access to public information as well as legislating for the right. In addition, for Vietnamese legislation on the right to be objectively evaluated, there is a need to compare it with a foreign one. I chose the Swedish legislation on access to public information to be compared with the Vietnamese one for the following reasons: (i) Sweden is regarded as the first country in the world where access to information held by public authorities is guaranteed by the highest legal instrument, the Constitution. As a result of the Age of Liberty, since 1766 the right of access to public information (as called right of access to official documents in Sweden) has been firstly recognized in the Swedish Freedom of Press Act,10 one of four instruments constituting the Swedish Constitution.11 Thanks to its long tradition and development, the Swedish legislation on access to public information has been consulted and relied on for theoretical and practical development of legislating for the right by the Council of Europe and other non-governmental organisations. (ii) Being a graduate student of Joint Master’s Program between Sweden and Vietnam, I have had a good chance to gain useful knowledge of Swedish legal system and society from my Swedish experienced professors. This knowledge is beneficiary to a legal comparative work which I will carry out. (iii) Finally, one of my supervisors is a Swedish professor who must have been a qualified expert on his own Swedish law. As a result of this benefit, my supervisor can give me the most accurate information related to my study, which is very important to comparative law. 10 The right of access to public information has been fully provided for in chapter two of the Freedom of Press Act which was first adopted in 1766 and replaced in 1949. The current version of the Act was amended in 1976, 1998 and 2002. As regards the historical development of FPA, see Ray Bradfield (tr.), The Constitution of Sweden: The Fundalmental Laws and the Riksdag Act (Sveriges Riksdag, Stockholm 2004) pp. 11-19 and 52-54. 1 The Swedish Constitution consists of four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Freedom of the Press Act, the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression, and the Act of Succession (IG 1:3). 8 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. 1.2 Purpose and delimitation The purpose of this study is to analyse the principles for legislating for the right of access to public information and compare Swedish and Vietnamese statutes which govern the right of access to public information. Moreover, based on the result of the comparative work, some recommendations to improve the Vietnamese legislation on access to public information will, where it is appropriate and possible, be made. Within the delimitation of my thesis, two matters concerning right of access to public information regime will be clarified, namely the scope of the right (in respect to the scope of information accessible and not accessible under the right) and the process to gain the gain provided for in Swedish and Vietnamese Law. Besides, in my work, I will focus on the statutes on access to public information, not the implementation thereof, although I hope I will have chance to come back to the interesting practical topic. In Swedish and Vietnamese law, the thesis will focus on just the right of individual access to public information, not such a right taken by the press or other organs. According to Vietnamese law, the right of access to public information is subject to individuals in two different positions. As an employee of a working organization, an individual can access to information within the activities of his working entity, and as a resident of a local government, an individual can access to information concerning the activities of the local government where he lives. Therefore, when I mention the right under Vietnamese law, the right is referred to as the individual right of access to information within activities of an administrative agency, not that of a working organization. The term “public information” implies information held by a public authority and a public authority is limited to a body with administrative function. Access to information held by either a legislative or judicial body will not be studied in the thesis. Moreover, to make the thesis cohesive, the term “right of access to information held by a public authority” will be referred to as “right of access to public information” or “the right”. 1.3 Methodology and material For the aforementioned study goals to be fulfiled, traditional legal methods will be applied to analyse and interpret statutes and legal instruments. Importantly, the method of comparative law is given a priority. Accordingly, a description of Swedish and Vietnamese law on the scope of the right and process to gain the right will be presented, then these matters will be analysed in a comparative perspective, and finally recommedations for legislating for the studied matters in Vietnam will be shown. 9 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law In my thesis, statutory materials and guidance are mostly focused on due to the limitation of reference sources which are available in English and the purpose of the thesis that is to study legal provisions only, not the implementation of the law. 1.4 Disposition In accordance with the purpose as well as the delimitation set forth, the thesis will be structured as follows: Chapter 1 will give an introduction to the study. The introduction will state the background and rationale, purpose and delimitation, method and material, and disposition of the thesis. Chapter 2 will analyse the general theory on right of access to public information and the basic principles for legislation for the right. This chapter is to give the readers basic knowledge concerning the right such as the concept of the right, the benefits of the right to the State and individuals, and the principles of access to public information law. The principles of legislating for the right will serve as criteria for the evaluation of the legal provisions of both laws. Chapter 3 and 4 will be taken in the same way of comparative law method. The Swedish and Vietnamese provisions on the scope of the right and process to gain the right will be described respectively, and then their comparative analysis will be taken in order to figure out the differences and similarities between the two laws. Finally, on the ground of the comparative analysis results, recommendations to legislating for the matters on scope of the right and process to gain the right in Vietnamese law will be given. Chapter 5, as the last one, will be a concluding chapter for what has been presented in the other chapters and it will give a general conclusion of the study. 10 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. 2. Right of access to public information and the principles of legislating for the right 2.1 Right of access to public information Right of access to official documents held by public authorities has been recognized as a fundamental right in Swedish Constitution since 1766. However, the right which is now commonly known as right of access to public information has been widely accepted and guaranteed by international and national laws in the last ten years. More and more nations have legislated for a law on access to public information, and according to David Banisar’s report,12 until December 2006 there are about seventy countries adopting such a law and fifty have been preparing the establishment of law on freedom of information.13 This flourishing adoption of freedom of information legislation all over the world is an increasing recognition of the importance of right of access to public information to enhancement of democracy and human right protection. In this part of the thesis, the concept of the right and its benefits to State and individuals will be demonstrated so that we can have a general knowledge of what the right means and why the right is so important and meaningful to our life and needs to be protected by law. 2.1.1 The concept of the right There are several terminologies used to indicate the right of access to public information,14 namely right to freedom of information, right to information, right to know, right of access to official documents, right of access to official documents held by public authorities and right of access to information held by the State. All these terms in spite of different words are meant ‘right to seek, receive and impart information’ as stated in article 19 of the UDHR.15 Freedom of information is recognized formally in the UDHR but in this important international document, the David Banisar, Freedom of Information Around the World 2006: A Global Survey of Access to Government Information Laws (Privacy International, London 2006) p. 6, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. Freedom of information is another term to refer to the right. David Banisar (2006) (n 12) p. 22. Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. 11 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law right to freedom of information is part of the right to freedom of opinion and expression: Everyone has the right to opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.16 Although the phrase ‘to seek, receive, impart information through any media and regardless of frontiers’ clearly conveys the meaning of the right to freedom of information and this phrase was also repeated by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights passed by the UN General Assembly in 1966, the true understading of the phrase is not explicitly defined and explained in those documents. In 1998, the precise content of the phrase was explained clearly by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression.17 As stated in the 1998 Annual Report of the Special Rapporteur, ‘the right to seek, receive and impart information imposes a positive obligation on States to ensure access to information, particularly with regard to information held by Government in all types of storage and retrieval systems’.18 The mentioned statement of the Special Rapporteur explicitly shows that ‘the right to freedom of expression includes the right to access information held by the State’.19 Beside the UN recognition of right to freedom of information as part of right to freedom of expression and particularly as right of access to information held by the State, right of access to information held by the State or in short right of access to public information is upheld strongly and practically by many other international as well as regional instruments. The Commonwealth Law Ministers adopted a set of principles and guidelines on freedom of information, which is named the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles.20 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in 2000, approved the Inter-American Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in which The article 19 of the UDHR. Established by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1993 and one of its main duty is to give clarification to the content of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 18 Report of the Special Rapporteur, Promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1998/40, 28 January 1998, para 14. 19 Toby Mendel, Freedom of Information: A Comparative Legal Survey (UNESCO 2003) p. 2, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. 20 ibid pp. 4-5. 12 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. freedom of information including the right to access information held by the State is recognized as a fundamental human right.21 In 1981, the Council of Europe had an important document specifically regarding right of access to information held by public authorities, it is Recommendation No. R (81)19 on access to information held by public authorities.22 In this document, the right of access to information held by public authorities is defined clearly and it is stated that right of access to information held by public authorities is right to obtain, on request, information held by the public authorities other than legislative bodies and judicial authorities. It means that everybody is entitled to obtain public information by sending his/her request about such information and the information is only under the authority of administrative bodies. Additionally, by adoption of Recommendation Rec(2002)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on access to official documents,23 the Council of Europe has strongly enshrined the right of freedom of information, especially right of access to public information. The concept of the right of access to public information can be drawn out through the Recommendation, it is ‘the right of everyone to have access, on request, to official documents held by public authorities’.24 The concept of right of access to information held by public authorities which is employed explicitly in its term is seldom discussed. The meaning of the right is clearly comprehensive by the wordings of the term, right of access to information held by public authorities. Therefore, it seems that there is no need to give any further clarification or definition to the concept of the right where its term can fully manifest its meaning. At present, the great concern regarding the right no longer lies in its concept but is related to issue of guarantee of the right in practice, i.e. how to protect the right efToby Mendel (2003) (n 19) p. 8. Recommendation No. R (81)19 on Access to information held by public authorities adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 25 November 1981 at the 340th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. 23 Recommendation Rec. (2002)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on access to official documents adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 21 February 2002 at the 784th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. 24 This recommends, “Member states should guarantee the right of everyone to have access, on request, to official documents held by public authorities. This principle should apply without discrimination on any ground, including national origin.” 13 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law fectively without violating the principles of privacy and State security. To meet this requirement, many international standards on access to public information legislation have been developed.25 2.1.2 Benefits of the right to the State and individuals It is not suprising to say that in an open government information is significantly necessary to the State’s function as an public administrator who maintains the society in order and guarantee human rights; however, information held by the State is not for itself but for public interest and the State in this case hold the information on behalf of the people.26 The right to information, therefore, is a prerequisite to guarantee a government democratic and particularly, right of access to public information is not only a fundamental human right which is required to be protected but also an effective tool to keep the information move freely between the State and the individuals. As a tool of guarantee of the free flow of information in an open government, the right of access to public information brings benefits to both the State and the people. 2.1.2.1 To the State In a democratic government, the participation of the people in the State’s work is highly required,27 and it is the most essential base for a democratic government to be established on. This is because a democratic government is ‘a government of the people, from the people, and for the people’28. Without the participation of the people in the public activities such as voting for representatives in public bodies, especially the highest authority, Parliament, undertaking the state policies, etc, the government cannot work and fulfill its functions. By informing the people about which State activities the State requires them to participate in, the people in general and particularly individuals know what they are re- This part will be mentioned in detail in 2.2 below. ARTICLE 19, Freedom of Information: Training Manual for Public Officials (Lancaster House, London) p 16, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. 27 ADC and ARTICLE 19, ‘Access to Information: An instrumental right for empowerment’ July 2007 p 9, available at: accessed 10 May 2008. This phrase is extracted from the article 2 of the Vietnamese Constitution of 1992. 14 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. quired to do and how they are entitled to act in accordance with the State’s requirements so that the State can serve them well.29 Most of information regarding the State policies is drawn up not for the sake of the State but for the public interest and the State does not work primarily for its own interest but for gathering and directing the society (a large number of people) how to act in order to keep the society in order and individual human rights respected by the others. Consequently, public access to information held by the State is a practical way to inform the public and activate the public participation in the State’s activities.30 The participation of the people can help the State’s policies work as well as give feedback on how the State’s policies work so that the State administration is more effective and anti-corruption is enhanced.31 This is also beneficial to the individuals who live in such an open and effective government. Besides that right of access to public information can ensure the democratic participation of the public into the execution of state’s policies, this right can strengthen State officials’ accountability.32 Being informed about the functions and activities of public authorities, the people can watch over the state officials’ work and give complaints on the wrongdoings of the officials. It is one of the best ways to let the individuals supervise the public work besides the supervision of the State over its bodies. This is because the people are directly affected by the State policies and they directly contact the State officials in certain cases regarding State administration. Moreover, the public participation in the State decision-making process at early stage makes the State more responsible in making decisions relating to the public interest and this can prevent the State from violating the civil rights.33 Additionally, the right of access to public information can give more transparency in government administration when public servants get more responsible for their work and this increases the public confidence on the State.34 Recommendation Rec(2002)2 (n 23) pp. 25-26. ibid. Nguyễn Đức Thùy, ‘Khái quát chung về quyền con người, quyền tiếp cận thông tin trong hệ thống quyền con người’ (The Overview of human rights, the right of access to informaion in relation with human right system) in Quyền tiếp cận thông tin (The Right of Access to Information) (Institute of Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh Politics and Administration Academy, Ha Noi 2008) pp. 17-18. ibid. Toby Mendel (2003) (n 19) pp. 13-15. Recommendation Rec(2002)2 (n 23) pp. 25-26. 15 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law 2.1.2.2 To individuals The right of access to public information is not only individual fundamental right but also a tool to protect other civil rights.35 The principle of the right ensures the individuals to be informed about the State decisions and then to be entitled to give their opinions on the state decisions as to prevent the State from making decisions violating the individual civil rights. Whenever individuals are informed, they will have knowledge of what the State does and they will know which of the state’s activities causes or may cause harm to their legitimate rights and they can lodge appropriate complaints on a certain state’s activity as to protect their legitimate rights. For example, in the case of the child victims of melamine contaminated milk powder causing bad effect to health in China, an individual can make a request for the information regarding the test of the contaminated milk powder sample taken by the competent authority and then he/she can make claim on the harm caused by the milk powder to his/her child against the milk powder companies. Furthermore, an individual exercises his right to access, on request, the piece of information held by public bodies, he has a chance to have more understanding of what the State requires him to do, what rights he is entitled by the law, and as a result of this understanding, he can act in accordance with the law and protect his legitimate rights. This benefit of the right to information is greatly meaningful to individuals when they live in a society where a government is no longer a ruler of the society but a service provider to the society. The people nowadays in a modern society increasingly take part in the State decision-making processes, which is the most significant feature of an open government. Finally, as mentioned by Toby Mendel (2003), besides the political aspect of the right, it is practically beneficiary to individual life and business.36 A person has right to access to his/her own medical records and he/she can have information on his/her health situation and then he/she can make his/her autonomous choice of treatments which are suitable for his/her situation. Moreover, the State holds a plenty of information related to business and economy, and this may facilitate one’s business. Thus, the public access to information held by a public authority is a real demand of all people who wish to have an autonomous life. ADC and ARTICLE 19 (2007) (n 27) p. 17. Toby Mendel (2003) (n 19) p. iv. 16 Fel! Använd fliken Start om du vill tillämpa Heading 1 för texten som ska visas här. 2.2 The principles of legislating for the right In the last ten years, legislating for the right of access to public information have swept over the world. Several international organisations have been working hard to campaing for adoption of law on access to public information as well as formulate principles or standards for access to public information legislation.37 The right of access to public information has been widely recognized in many national constitutions and importantly the right is guaranteed practically by passing detailed legal provisions on access to public information. This way, the right is not only recognized as a fundamental human right but also guaranteed by law in practice. There are not much scientific theories on the right, but the basic standards for measure of guarantee of the right has been defined fairly sufficiently through some international documents such as the ARTICLE 19’s Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation,38 the Recommendation No. R (81)19 of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Access to Information Held by Public Authorities, the Recommendation Rec.(2002)2 of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Access to Official Documents, the Aarhus Convention,39 the Inter-American Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression,40 the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa,41 the UN Report on Promotion and Protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.42 In spite of those principles presented in different international instruments, they convey the common basic principles for making law on access to information held by public authorities. Generally speaking, they have been prescribed basically the same contents. Among these instruments, ARTICLE 19’s Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation clearly and sufficiently covered most of the principles essential to making a law on access to public information. Toby Mendel (2003) (n 19) p. 23. ARTICLE 19, an international human rights non-governmental organization located in London. 39 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, UN Doc. ECE/CEP/43, adopted by UNECE and the EU, 25 June 1998 and come into force 30 October 2001. Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human rights at its 108th Regular Session, 19 October 2000. 41 Adopted by the African Commission on Human and People’s rights at its 32nd Ordinary Session, 17-23 October 2002, Banjul, the Gambia. 42 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/63, 18 January 2000, para. 44. 17 Legislating for the right of access to public information in Swedish and Vietnamese Law For the above reason, in my thesis, I concentrate on the introduction of the basic principles for legislating for the right listed in ARTICLE 19’s Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation. Additionally, among those principles mentioned in the ARTICLE 19’s Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation, I focus on clarification of those principles significantly relevant to my thesis objectives, namely principles on scope of the right, exceptions of the right, and process to facilitate the right, due to the page limitation of my thesis. The other principles are also described shortly in the thesis and relevant reference will be noted for further information. According to the ARTICLE 19’s Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation, access to public information or freedom of information law should be conformed on the following set of principles:  Principle 1. Maximum disclose: Freedom of information should be guided by the principle of maximum disclosure.  Principle 2. Obligation to publish: Public bodies should be under an obligation to publish key information.  Principle 3. Promotion of open government: Public bodies must actively promote open government.  Principle 4. Limited scope of exceptions: Exceptions should be clearly and narrowly drawn and subject to strict “harm” and “public interest” tests.43  Principle 5. Process to facilitate access: Request for information should be processed rapidly and fairly and an independent review should be available.  Principle 6. Costs: Individuals should not be deterred from making request for information by excessive costs.  Principle 7. Open meetings: Meeting of public bodies should be open to the public.  Principle 8. Disclosure takes precedence: Laws which are not consistent with the principle of maximum disclosure should be amended or repealed.  Principle 9. Protection for whistleblowers: Individuals who release information on wrongdoing – whistleblowers – must be protected. 2.2.1 Maximum of disclosure According to Toby Mendel,44 the person drafting the ARTICLE 19’s Principles of Freedom of Information Legislation, the maximum principle has three aspects. 43 This is the test whether or not disclosure of information in question may cause any harm to a protected interest (test of harm) and if disclosure of classified information to the public prevails over its protected interests, it must be released (test of interest balance). Toby Mendel (2003) (n 19) pp. 25-26. 18